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Embattled Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff is slated to testify today at her impeachment trial—a trial that many are calling a coup by her right-wing political rivals. Rousseff has denounced the proceedings and called for early elections to unite the country. Rousseff’s impeachment stems from accusations she tampered with government accounts to hide a budget deficit. She was suspended earlier this year and has maintained her innocence, accusing her political opponents of spearheading the proceedings to shield themselves from prosecution and undo years of progressive policies. The Brazilian group Transparency Brazil says 60 percent of Brazilian lawmakers are currently under criminal investigation or have already been convicted of crimes ranging from corruption to election fraud. Rousseff’s opponents now need 54 votes, or two-thirds of the 81-seat Senate, to convict her of violating budget laws. Her impeachment would end 13 years of left-wing Workers’ Party rule in Brazil and bring to power interim President Michel Temer for the remaining two years of Rousseff’s term. Temer is also deeply unpopular and currently under investigation himself, accused of receiving illegal campaign contributions linked to the state oil company Petrobras.

TRANSCRIPT

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

AMYGOODMAN: Embattled Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff is slated to testify today at her impeachment trial—a trial that many are calling a coup by her right-wing political rivals. Rousseff has denounced the proceedings and called for early elections to unite the country.

PRESIDENTDILMAROUSSEFF: [translated] For that, we say that if the impeachment is confirmed, without proof of culpability, it will be a coup d’état. I give my full support of referendum, so people can decide to call for early elections and for political and electoral reform, as well.

AMYGOODMAN: Dilma Rousseff’s impeachment stems from accusations she tampered with government accounts to hide a budget deficit. She was suspended earlier this year, has maintained her innocence, accusing her political opponents of spearheading the proceedings to shield themselves from prosecution and undo years of progressive policies. The Brazilian group Transparency Brazil says 60 percent of Brazilian lawmakers are currently under criminal investigation or have already been convicted of crimes ranging from corruption to election fraud. On Saturday, Senator Paulo Paim of Rousseff’s Workers’ Party challenged the impeachment as an attack on the democratic right of the Brazilian people to choose their president.

Introduction:The
Financial Times editorial page carries a logo that proclaims: “Without fear and
without favour”. Indeed the editors have shown no fear when it comes to. . .
fabricating lies, promoting imperial wars decimating countries and
impoverishing millions, whether in Libya, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen and
now Venezuela. The fearless “Lies of Our Times” have been at the forefront
forging pretexts for inciting imperial armies to crush independent governments.

Despite its
pretentious scribblers and prestigious claims, the FT is seen by the
Anglo-American financial class as a belligerent purveyor of militarist policies
designed for the most retrograde sectors of the ruling elite.

What is most
striking about the FT fearless fabrications on behalf of imperial militarism is
how often their political and economic prognostications have been incompetent
and flat out wrong.

For the past ten
years, the FT editorial pages have described China in economic crisis and
heading for a fall, while in reality, the Chinese economy has grown at between
eight and six percent a year.

For over a decade
and a half, the FT editors claimed Russia under President Vladimir Putin
presented an international existential threat to ‘the West’. In fact, it was
the ‘Western’ armies of NATO, which expanded military operations to the borders
of Russia, the US, which financed a neo-fascist coup in Kiev and the US-EU
which promoted an Islamist uprising in Syria designed to totally undermine
Russia’s influence and relations in the Middle East.

US in denial over sponsoring terrorism is why Syrian war rages on

Finian Cunningham (born 1963) has written extensively on international affairs, with articles published in several languages. Originally from Belfast, Ireland, he is a Master’s graduate in Agricultural Chemistry and worked as a scientific editor for the Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, England, before pursuing a career in newspaper journalism. For over 20 years he worked as an editor and writer in major news media organizations, including The Mirror, Irish Times and Independent. Now a freelance journalist based in East Africa, his columns appear on RT, Sputnik, Strategic Culture Foundation and Press TV.

Marathon 10-hour talks this weekend between the US and Russia in Geneva failed to produce a comprehensive plan to end the brutal Syrian war.

Cutting through diplomatic jargon, the fundamental problem is that the US remains in denial about its criminal role in fueling the war.

It is this role by the US and various foreign allies in supporting illegally armed groups that ensures the continuance of the conflict, which has been running for nearly six years with hundreds of thousands killed.

Washington and its allies – in particular this week Turkey – claim to be fighting terrorism. But the myriad global networks of weapons, cash, oil smuggling and military intelligence all testify to systematic state sponsorship of terrorism in Syria – in spite of random apparent anti-terror operations by these same sponsor-states.

US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said they were continuing to work on details for a breakthrough to end the violence. These precise details were not revealed, but it is reported that American and Russian military and technical experts are liaising on resolving them.

Kerry and Lavrov have obviously good personal rapport, and there seems to be an earnest mutual respect between the diplomats to find a solution in Syria.But how can a solution be found when one of the parties is part of the problem? Not only that, but the guilty party is in utter denial about its nefarious role.

Answer of the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to the question of the media before the meeting with the US State Secretary J.Kerry, Geneva, the 26th of August, 2016

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Question: Mr.Minister, could you tell us what is the primary impediment to having a nation-wide ceasefire now?

Sergey Lavrov: I don't want to spoil the atmosphere of the negotiations.

Published on 27/08/2016 at 15:00 h UTCProgress towards settling the Syrian crisis has been made, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry announced after wrapping up key talks. According to the diplomats, experts from both countries will meet in Geneva in coming days to clarify the details of what has been agreed.

assange

At midday on Friday 5 February, 2016 Julian Assange, John Jones QC, Melinda Taylor, Jennifer Robinson and Baltasar Garzon will be speaking at a press conference at the Frontline Club on the decision made by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention on the Assange case.